


Madison for Town Council

by ThatOneBirb



Category: Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, During Canon, F/F, Madison wins the town council seat, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Slow-ish burn Arson, canon compliant deaths, i really love that tag rn, no beta we die like half of connor creek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29081463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneBirb/pseuds/ThatOneBirb
Summary: Madison won. Paul could hardly believe it, but the votes don't lie.On the outside, Truman seemed to be taking it well, but Paul knew better.With the deaths still piling up, it was only a matter of time before everything is revealed.
Relationships: Madison Reynolds/Artemis Schue-Horyn
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	1. Madison... won?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back and I'm not ready to do a multi-chap fic at all but here we go

Paul couldn't believe his ears. Madison won. She had actually won. Truman was currently smiling, conversing with the members of the town council. A little before, he had watched Truman graciously concede to the election, wishing Madison the best in fulfilling her role of the newest town council member.

Behind her smiles, Paul knew better. Years of working as a journalist together with Artemis had taught the twins how to read people's emotions. Especially politicians. Truman may have been smiling but inside, she was clearly seething with rage. To add to the insult, Madison wasn't even here for her victory. She was probably either at home or at The Dead Canary. Either way, Paul went up to Truman, hoping to get her comments on the election results for the podcast.

Turns out, getting answers from a politician about an election they had just lost was harder than he thought. Truman was smiling as she answered his questions but beneath it, he could feel her patience wearing thin as he asked her question after question. Before he was done however, Paul couldn’t help himself in asking one more question.

“So, your plans for Connor Creek relied a lot on winning this election. Now that you’ve lost, what are you going to do?”

Truman’s smile faltered for a second before it became wider and brighter. Paul could really tell that she was forcing it now. Truman looked thoughtfully into the distance for a short while before answering.

“Well, my plans in Connor Creek were indeed riding on winning this election, I’ll admit. However, you are forgetting what my main aim of coming here was. To help the people of this town, to help them revitalise their economy, to open themselves to the rest of the world. Connor Creek has so much to offer, and I want to do my best to help them realise that. Having Minor Mole here was one of the ways I wanted to help with the economy but with Ms Reynolds as the newest member, I fear it may be harder. Despite this, I vow I will do everything in my power to help the citizens of Connor Creek and I won’t leave until it’s done.”

Before Paul could ask what Truman had meant when she said she could do everything she could, Truman had already left, leaving Paul with only his recordings and the few people that were still discussing the results of the election. He tried to interview a few of them but they were clearly not interested in answering any of Paul’s questions, and he gave up, going back to The Dead Canary where he hoped that he could at least get some kind of breakfast.

Quinn had just taken back the food from Paul and Paul watched as his sister ordered a cup of coffee and took a seat beside him. He quickly told Artemis about the results of the election and what Truman told him. Artemis, who was now nibbling on a slice of toast, sat up surprised. Sure, she was the one who had got Madison to run for the seat on the Town Council, but she didn’t think Madison would actually be able to do it. Her whole campaign, if you could even call it one, was practically nonexistent.

“How did Truman take it?”

“Not very well. She is a good actor, I’ll give her that, but I could really tell she was pissed.”

“Of course she would. Madison’s whole campaign was less than twenty-four hours long and was about her being Ryan’s sister.”

“Not to mention the fact that it’s going to be harder for her to help Minor Mole to get their permits here.”

Artemis placed her fork down.

“You mean Truman’s staying?”

“Yea, she is. I’ll show you the recording later. But, in short, she basically said she’ll stay until she and Minor Mole get what they want.”

Artemis nodded, and went back to her food as Paul went back to their room to get the recording. Desmond, who was listening to the entire conversation, handed Artemis the papers. Artemis read the words before her. She flipped to the page on the election, reading Truman’s concession speech as well as the new legislation the council had made that day. One particular sentence however, stood out to Artemis.

“Was Madison not at the election, Desmond?”

Desmond placed the glass he was cleaning back on the shelf.

  
“Nope. Made Truman’s loss even worse apparently, seeing as to how the candidate who won didn’t even show up.”

Artemis finished the last of her coffee.

  
“Do you know where she might be?”

“She’s probably still at home. She would have to pass by here to get to the sheriff’s office and no one has seen her so far today.” Desmond paused, before turning back to get a bottle. “Tell her I said hi, and give my congratulations.”

Artemis smiled, “will do.”

At that moment, Dr. Henry decided to make himself known, groaning loudly and taking a huge gulp of beer.

  
“If you’re going, I suggest taking the other door. Man was it hard to get in here.”

“What do you mean?” asked Artemis.

“Dead body blocking the entrance and all that. Not to mention the protestors outside surrounding it.”

Artemis bolted out of her chair, opening the door to The Dead Canary. Rita was already there, along with Crispin. At their feet was a body, presumably of the one that was murdered.

“Poor Odie-Dody,” Artemis heard Rita sighed as she continued muttering about preparing the body in her morgue.

Artemis took a closer look and grimaced, it was indeed Odie-Doty, but this time the mailman was covered in scratches, blood dripping from the large amount of wounds he suffered from. It was only when Crispin and Rita began to carry the body away that Artemis noticed the protestors.

The Irons, Jeremiah, and Barney were all yelling about werewolves, the Irons and Barney holding up signs and waving them about. Artemis did not know what to think of it.

Paul had finally appeared, recording equipment in his arms, “hey Artemis, I was thinking… What’s going on here?”

Paul watched, bewildered as the crowd got louder as more people joined. Artemis could see the Walkers heading towards them and quickly pulling Paul in the opposite direction, she spoke hurriedly.

“We need to talk to Madison.”


	2. Bombarded with news at all sides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... confession: I might have chosen the worst possible time to start this. But here's the second chapter. As always, not beta'ed and I did my best to edit.
> 
> P.S. I love the bloopers for Wayward Guide

Finding Madison was easy. Desmond had already given them directions earlier and all that was left was for Artemis and Paul to figure their way around the tiny town of Connor Creek. Most of the houses were near the owners' place of work. Olivia and Riley lived above the ammo and gun shops, Vern house was behind the meat deli and so on. It was therefore no surprise that Madison's little cabin was right across the Sheriff's office.

"Madison?" Artemis, seeing as to how she was not holding the recording equipment, knocked on the door of Madison home. She would have offered to help Paul carry some of their equipment but after too many incidents with Artemis almost destroying it, Paul quickly declared her enemy of all recording equipment.

It took several loud knocks before Madison opened the door. The Sheriff was, for a lack of a better word, a mess. Her hair was somehow messier than Artemis' bed hair — Paul whispered to which Artemis elbowed him in annoyance — her glasses were skewed to the side and it took a couple of seconds for Madison to even realise there were people at her door.

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry. Come in, come in."

Madison quickly stepped aside for Paul and Artemis to enter. The pair looked around the sheriff’s home. It was small, quaint. Madison showed them into her living room and Artemis watched as Madison moved around the kitchen, preparing three cups of hot tea before excusing herself to tidy herself up.

Once Madison left, Artemis took out her notebook, flipping the pages and reviewing her notes on what they had on Connor Creek. So far, they had nothing. Madison joining the election, let alone winning, was not only a surprise, but not expected at all. With all the alleged corruption going on at Minor Mole and the Truman campaign, Madison more or less did not have a chance. Now with Madison as the newest town council member, their investigation was definitely going to go in a different direction.

Artemis felt Paul nudge her shoulder and looked up.

“So... how are we going to tell Madison? I mean we could just pop Desmond’s champagne and yell ‘congratulations to Connor Creek’s newest town council member’, like a-” Paul made a champagne popping gesture.

“We’re definitely not telling Madison that way,” Artemis said, slapping Paul’s hands lightly.

“Tell me what?”

Madison had just walked back into the room. She was dressed in her normal sheriff’s uniform and had her hat in her hand. She looked expectantly at Artemis and Paul as she took a seat on the armchair opposite the twins. Artemis pursed her lips and grimaced. She looked to Paul, who shrugged and she shook her head, turning back to Madison.

“Do you remember what today is?” started Artemis.

Madison frowned, her mind seemingly trying to figure out the date. Artemis could see the moment the sheriff remembered, her eyes widening comically and Artemis nearly had to stop the sheriff from leaping from the armchair.

“It’s over. The election results were released this morning,” Artemis said slowly. She watched as Madison slump back into the armchair, her head going into her hands as she groaned.

“And let me guess: Truman won... Gosh, I can’t believe it.”

“Um she didn’t.” Madison looked up, confused.

“You won.”

Madison shook her head slowly.

“What?”

“You won, Madison.”

Madison’s eyes widened for the second time that morning. She opened her mouth before closing again, her eyes turning to Paul, who nodded eagerly. Artemis nudged Paul lightly who grinned a little sheepishly.

Madison remained quiet. Artemis watched as Madison took in the news, the latter’s hands trembled slightly as she drank most of her tea in one gulp. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Artemis asked carefully.

“How are you feeling?”

Madison shook her head, “overwhelmed. I was so confident at the beginning that I could beat Truman and handle two jobs, but now? I don’t know. How am I supposed to be sheriff and town council member at the same time? Can I even do that?”

The sheriff continued spiralling and Paul looked to Artemis, concerned. Artemis was about to stop Madison when they heard a knock at the door. That seemed to work as Madison managed to compose herself enough to open the door.

From where they sat, they could clearly see Rita standing at Madison’s door, an indiscernible look on her face.

“Sheriff Madison, there you are. I need you to start on the paperwork for Odie-Doty’s murder-”

“Odie’s _what_?” Rita grimaced and nodded.

Madison stood, looking slightly shaken but Rita continued, “There’s also the vote on the Minor Mole legislation but the rest of the council wants you to sort out your sheriff and town council duties, congratulations by the way, before starting...”

Rita continued to list things that Madison needed to do and by the end of it, Madison could only nod. When Rita left, Madison turned back, looking a little dazed. Artemis felt a little pity for Madison. The sheriff had not even been awake for an hour and she was being bombarded with news at all sides.

“Well… it looks like I have a lot of work to do today,” said Madison, her voice a little shaky.

“Are you okay, Madison? That was a lot to take in,” asked Artemis, feeling worry for the sheriff. Madison nodded, her face morphing into a smile almost instantly.

“Of course I’m fine. Like I said that night at The Dead Canary: I am perfectly capable of investigating these murders and running for town council.” Madison says cheerily. She paused for a moment, “I mean, being a town council member in this case. Um… now if you’ll excuse me, I have a long day of work ahead of me.”

And with that, their little visit to Madison’s home was cut short. Madison had practically chased them out after Rita’s visit and the sheriff was in a slight frenzy as she quickly placed the mugs into the sink. Madison promised that she would speak to them soon, though Artemis wasn’t sure if she even had time considering all that she had to do. Regardless, the Schue-Horyns bid goodbye to Madison and went on their way, determined to interview some more people about the death of Odie-Doty.

***

As the Schue-Horyn twins walked down the road to Vern’s, Artemis couldn’t help but notice Paul’s increasingly agitated behaviour.

“Paul?”

Paul jumped, almost dropping their recording equipment. Artemis gave her brother a concerned look.

“Yea, I’m great. Nothing to worry about here.”

Artemis knew Paul was lying, and she felt her concerns grow. He was never good at lying to her, growing up with Paul, she knew his tells. The increasingly jumpy behaviour was something she did not see often, however. The last time she did see that was when they were applying to APN.

Knowing Paul’s tells however, also meant that she knew when to back off, when to give her brother space when he wanted to figure things out on his own. This was one of those times and Artemis respected that. She gave Paul a playful punch to the shoulder — their way of saying ‘I’m here’ — and allowed him to lead her to their next interviewee.

***

Back at the sheriff’s office, Madison was tidying up her desk. She didn’t do it often, considering how she was Connor Creek’s only sheriff and therefore there was no one to criticise her workspace. However, now with the additional role of town council member and the mounting number of murder cases, a little tidying up was much needed.

Her office was not messy, per se, she would instead call it an organised mess. Crimes were not common in Connor Creek so that pile was more or less non-existent. The only files she had were from tourists — those making a quick stop in town — who thought it would be a good idea to cause a food fight in The Dead Canary. That was the most action Madison had seen in a long time.

Now, that pile was growing, and not in the way Madison liked. Murder was soon becoming Connor Creek’s number one crime at three cases. Scratch that, it _was_ Connor Creek’s number one crimes — if you excluded all the tickets Helen gave out.

Madison sighed as she moved another stack of paperwork aside. She would have to create a schedule to fit in the town council duties and also read up on the Minor Mole legislation before tomorrow’s vote.

As she continued packing her office, she heard the door open and someone step in. She placed the box she was holding on a shelf and walked to the front desk.

“Hey… Miss Hensley?” Madison frowned as Truman walked into the sheriff’s office. Truman smiled as she took a seat opposite of Madison. “Not that you’re not welcomed here, you’re certainly welcomed all the time, but what brings you to the sheriff’s office?”

Truman smiled, handing Madison a file. Eyeing Truman suspiciously, Madison took the file and flipped through the various documents. They were all on Minor Mole and the legislation that Truman wanted to implement in Connor Creek. There were also reports on the potential profits that Minor Mole could bring into Connor Creek. Madison placed the file back on the table and asked, “why are you showing me this?”

Truman raised an eyebrow, “you do not understand, do you?” When Madison remained silent, Truman continued, “do you not see the profit that Minor Mole could bring into Connor Creek? Tell me sheriff, when was the last time Connor Creek had the funds to upgrade the town facilities. When was the last time the people of Connor Creek were able to afford to even leave the town, to go on a vacation? When was the last time the merchants of Connor Creek didn’t have to worry about not having enough income from tourists?”

“What are you trying to get at, Miss Hensley?”

“Madison, you might think we’re very different people but I disagree. We both want the same thing: the best for the people of Connor Creek, and Connor Creek needs Minor Mole as much as Minor Mole needs Connor Creek. Your vote tomorrow, will decide the fate of the people in Connor Creek and I hope you make the right decisions.”

Madison narrowed her eyes as Truman waited for a response. When she realised she was not going to get one, Truman took a piece of paper from her jacket pocket. A cheque. Seeing what Truman was trying to do, Madison stood up, furious.

“Now listen here Truman. I am the sheriff of Connor Creek and I take that role mighty seriously. If you think you can _bribe_ me to vote yes for the Minor Mole expansion, you clearly do not know our town. Now I suggest you take your little folder and cheque out of my office before I arrest you for trying to bribe a sheriff _and_ town council member.”

  
“Of course, sheriff _._ Also,” Truman said, as she turned towards the door, “something I learned from experience: when you want to win, following the law isn’t always going to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea when the next update will come but it's my first multi-chap fic so I really want to finish it. In the meantime, happy lunar new year :D

**Author's Note:**

> I think I know where this is going... sorta.


End file.
